"I think probably when Lamar (Odom) challenged me to get one, and I got one at halftime," Bryant said about his last triple-double, which came Nov. 3, 2010, at Sacramento.

This was supposed to be new Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni's debut, but with D'Antoni still sidelined from knee surgery, this was another chance to check out the Lakers' fun, fast, efficient offense.

Even though he wasn't on the bench, his offense was on display.

Bryant had 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds after just two quarters. The Lakers scored 40 points in the first quarter and had 98 points after three.

D'Antoni had said if his Lakers weren't scoring 110-115 points a game, they'd have a talk. No closed-door meetings yet.

Is this as much fun as it looks?

"It's getting there," Bryant said. "We still kind of got our heads down and are motoring along. The fun will come a little later."

Just imagine.

The Lakers are back to .500 at 5-5, cleaning up much of the mess Brown made.

In the third quarter, Bryant had a breakaway fastbreak dunk. Seconds later, he fed Dwight Howard for a dunk. Bryant was at midcourt with the thumbs-up sign. The Lakers called timeout to rest Bryant and Howard, and the two high-fived, smiled and laughed.

The Lakers are playing a fun game again.

In the third quarter, Bryant went to work. Efficient work. Kobe being Kobe. In driving to the basket on one play, he faked out Patrick Patterson, Jeremy Lin and went around Omer Asik to score.

He lifted his arms up.

You could almost see the offense's imaginary handcuffs lifted.

A couple of trips down the court later, he pump-faked Terrence Jones high in the air, made the outside shot and drew the foul. He stood and posed with a smirk on his face.

This is fun, all right.

Mike D'Antoni wasn't on the sidelines, which was a bummer, but his offense was real, present and accounted for all right.

D'Antoni coaches the team pregame, halftime and postgame, and what fun this game is so far.

Of course, it's November, not June.

D'Antoni watched the game with "the Steves" - Nash and Blake, who are injured - from the trainer's room. They're all rehabbing with D'Antoni from injuries.

Los Angeles, on the heels of so much drama, was finally ready to welcome the man who is not afraid to consider his gig a failure if the Lakers don't win the championship.

D'Antoni surely wants to get in that coach's hot seat and get a feel for how fans' perceive him.

Asked if he has gotten around much - he's still hobbling - and what reactions have been toward him, D'Antoni said he's only conversed with the folks from room service at his hotel. They're even friends.

He's going to become BFFs with Bryant if this fun and run-and-gun continues.

This is good for now, but the jury is still out on D'Antoni's defense ... or lack thereof.

Can it last? The offense should.

There was even fun to be had on the bench. Nash was busting Gangnam-style moves on the bench, in his suit, making him a popular fixture on the video screen.

Things should be more fun with Nash back in the lineup, Blake back on the court and D'Antoni on the bench.